The present application relates to printheads and methods of making printheads and more particularly to employing manufacturing concepts for low cost printhead production.
Ink jet printheads, and in particular drop-on-demand ink jet printheads, are well known in the art. The principle behind an piezo ink jet printhead is the displacement of an ink chamber and subsequent emission of ink droplets from the ink chamber through a nozzle. A driver mechanism is used to displace the ink in the ink chamber. The driver mechanism typically consists of a transducer (e.g., a piezoelectric component) bonded to a thin diaphragm. When a voltage is applied to a transducer, the transducer attempts to change its planar dimensions, but, because it is securely and rigidly attached to the diaphragm, bending occurs. This bending displaces ink in the ink chamber, causing the flow of ink both through an inlet from the ink supply to the ink chamber and through an outlet and passageway to a nozzle. In general, it is desirable to employ a printhead geometry that permits multiple nozzles to be positioned in a densely packed array. However, the arrangement of ink chambers and coupling of ink chambers to associated nozzles is not a straight forward task, especially when compact ink jet array printheads are sought.
The printing industry is continually seeking to decrease the cost of printing systems and to improve the printing quality. In order for piezoelectric inkjet printing devices to remain competitive, for example in markets currently addressed by xerography, the cost for such printheads need to decrease.
While various cost saving approaches have been addressed, many steps of printhead manufacturing employs procedures specifically designed for such devices and use labor intensive and costly processes.
An example of an existing drop on demand ink jet printhead is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,930. This patent was designed to enhance the packing density of the pressure chambers, ink supply channels leading to the pressure chambers and offset channels in the printhead. However, as can be seen, the printhead is formed using specific manufacturing processes for the printhead including diffusion bonding and braising. A drawback of this manufacturing system as well as others is the requirement of using processes that are formed specifically for the printhead industry. Since such processes are designed specifically for the printhead industry, only a relatively small number of companies and/or persons have the expertise to manufacture the printheads. It is therefore worthwhile to use technology that has a wider base of use and/or infrastructure for the manufacture of printheads resulting in an increased cost savings.